Wings of Fire Legacy: Hail to the King
by Proto Dragon Writer
Summary: Years before the SandWing war, there was the War of Frost and Fire. This near 100-year long ordeal started between the IceWings and SkyWings that nearly ended in the destruction of Pyrrhia. Delve back to before the start of the war, where a lone IceWing Noble tries to take the IceWing throne from their corrupt Queen. Rated M for gory violence and swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**Part I**

No Traitors Allowed

* * *

**Chapter I**

It's sunrise, the sun peeking out over the desert landscape due south. A lone IceWing lays on the snow near the edge of the Great Ice Cliff, peering out over the golden dunes below. The pale blue dragon mumbled out foul things and spat curses, disgruntled about whatever he may have been thinking about. His dark blue eyes scanned all that was in front of his person. An ear of his would soon perk up though, and he turned his head to the left, staring towards the way the sound of wingbeats were coming from. It was another IceWing. This one was lightly adorned with platinum and sapphires. A crown upon her head that signified a definite type royal dragon. The Queen. The lone IceWing grunted a little unsavory and turned his attention back to the sandy landscape below him. As the wingbeats drew near, he spread out his own, as if he were about to take off before the sound of her voice called out to him.

"I knew I'd find you out here, Gwyn." The Queen landed down beside him, to which he bared his teeth a bit, then turned his head away. "What has you upset today?"

Gwynion, or rather Gwyn as he liked to be called, turned toward her a small smudge and glared at her in a most sinister tone. "What is it you need of me, your Highness..?"

"Is that much of a question? You are my royal advisor after all… you know I have much need of you." She smirked lightly, lowering her head slightly to lean it toward the other IceWing and grin a bit. "You still have much to catch up on. Missed scrolls, missed meetings, missed advisor-ing. That sort of stuff. Oooh, but does that list ever go on."

Gwyn rolled his eyes a small but before turning around completely to face Queen Blizzard, fully acknowledging her presence now. "You do know how deathly angry I am at you, right?" He growled a bit, giving his wings a singular flap before tucking them against his sides once more.

"Sure I do. However, you know you can't do anything about it." The Queen flicked the earring on her left ear with a subtle smirk, glancing back to him as she turned her head to the left. "An enchantment of your own doing, dear cousin."

Yeah… Don't remind me. "I wasn't aware of the situation you'd put me in at the time so I thought it would be a nice gesture… Now I see why wanted it truly." He scoffed a bit and brushed past her, spreading out his wings and lowering himself down to the ground slightly, in a readied pounce stance. "I'll see you back at the Ice Palace, your Majesty." He spat with a harsh tone before taking off into the frigid air toward the Ice Palace.

* * *

"Gwynnnn!" A dragonet came prancing out into the courtyard of the Ice Palace, giggling a bit as she stopped in front of the grouchy IceWing who had just touched down onto the snow-coated ground.

Ugh… what do you want this time, Snowbird… "Hello, little one," Gwyn spoke lightly, flicking his tail back and forth a bit.

"The whole Palace was looking everywhere for you! Where did you run off to? The Queen was worried!" She ran around the IceWing for a short minute before stopping in front of him once again.

If only it was for the right reasons... "I know. The Queen herself came and found me. I told her I'd meet her back at the Palace."

"And you'd be correct about that." Queen Blizzard steadied her descent onto the icy steps leading up to the Palace, giving her adorned wings a flex before tucking them against her sides. "Come, Gwyn, we have some things to discuss." Gwyn wasn't given much choice as Snowbird quickly pranced behind him and pushed her paws against his rear to start shoving him forward. Queen Blizzard turned and headed inside the Palace with Gwyn and Snowbird following beside.

Inside the Palace all was quiet. Not a single dragon was flying overhead through the hallways, shouting and yelling to each other anything that they may need the other to do. In fact, only the sound of serrated claws on the icy floor was all that echoed throughout the corridor. Idle tipping and clacking, all but annoying to Gwyn as he tried to keep his claws from making too much noise while the other two had no care in the world.

"Snowbird, would you kindly go back to your room? Gwyn and I have a few things to talk about.." Queen Blizzard turned her head to the dragonet and nosed at her softly to head for her room.

"As you wish!" Snowbird nodded her head a few times before quickly heading down the hallway to the area where the other IceWing Nobles usually stayed.

"Now, Gwyn," The female turned her head to the other IceWing, her face having a stern look about it. "Any reason as to why you haven't finished your work on what I have assigned you?" She pushed open a door that was in front of the two, leading into a dimly lit chamber, deep blue torches lined the walls to provide the minimal lighting. "You know how important it is that you get a full grip on your Animus magic."

"And I do have a full grip on it. I don't understand why you keep pushing me down this path. Haven't you ever heard of what happens to an Animus dragon when they use their Animus powers too much? It drives them insane." He growled a bit, lightly pushing past the Queen as he approached a large ice-carved island that sat in the middle of the room.

"Oh no, I wasn't aware of that at all." Her sarcastic tone came off with a bit of anger to it. "Gwyn that is a thing of the past. Surely we dragons have evolved far enough to where we do not need to worry about such problems." The Queen waved it off a small bit as she lightly fiddled with her earring that dangled from her left ear. The pointed blue crystal that hung from its platinum casing glistened softly in the dim blue light. "Now… I'm sure you've heard the rumors that have been floating around with the NightWings." Gwyn simply nodded his head. "Well, I need you to enchant a couple of scrolls for me. One that records everything written on it and transfers it to the empty one. The empty one never runs out of room and always stores the most valuable information on it while getting rid of the lesser information."

"So… You want me to make some sort of spying tool then..?"

"Precisely!" The Queen turned and picked up two scrolls in one set of talons. Each one was blank and neatly tied to keep them from unfurling. "Here." Queen Blizzard turned to Gwyn and handed him the two scrolls. He sighed and took both in his talons, laying one on the icy countertop while he held the other one to his snout and whispered.

"Anything written on this scroll is to be recorded and sent to an empty scroll." The IceWings claws and spikes lightly glowed a soft cyan that was steadily matching the scroll as it glowed along with him. Soon enough the scroll would stop glowing, and Gwyn would pick up the other empty scroll, gently whispering to that one as well. "Anything on this scroll is to be recorded forever with only the most valuable information and is to never run out room." His claws and spikes started that faint glow once again, and soon enough the scroll would as well. He picked up the other animus-touched scroll and held each one in a set of talons and spoke once again. "Now I link these two scrolls together so that the information from one is shared with the other…" Both enchanted scrolls glowed brighter and brighter as his talons and spikes did, only for it all stop suddenly. Gwyn closed his eyes and let his maw open, a strained look on his face as he shivered and shook in the place he sat. He set down both scrolls on the counter and leaned against it, a soft pant leaving him steadily as if he got the wind knocked out of him. Queen Blizzard had too much of a smirk on her muzzle to pay more attention to her pained cousin.

"Wonderful… I will have one sent to the NightWings in no time." She grabbed one of the animus-touched scrolls and scooched past the shaking IceWing, quickly leaving him alone.

"H-hah… Three moons…" He dug his claws into the icy floor underneath and held still, one set of claws resting on his chest as he tried to keep himself still. "At this rate, it's going to kill me before I go insane…" The IceWing struggled to his feet and looked at the other scroll left behind. Grabbing it with his tail, he shakingly made his way out from the magically-torch lit chamber and into the massively open corridor. His head hung low and his body looked tense, trying desperately to hold his balance as he walked down to way. "She'll get wh-what's coming to her eventually… So help me… If I have to do it myself… I… I will…" Gwyn talked to himself the whole way down the hall, devising some sort of plan to take out the Ice Kingdom's believed Queen. While his plan might only be a benefit to him, it had to be done. No matter where he went he knew he'd be sent back to the Ice Kingdom and given right back to Queen Blizzard. Gwyn turned into the throne room and made his way to the throne to drop off the enchanted scroll. A couple of the guards turned their gazes to look at the struggling IceWing Noble.

"Sir Gwyn, are you alright?" One of the guards spoke up from his spot. Gwyn's simple response was a turn of the head and gaze back with his now dull and greyed out eyes. The IceWing soon closed his eyes and collapsed onto the frosted floor with a sounding gasp, all the guards in the throne room quickly rushing to him. The last thing Gwyn heard was the sound of clanking armor and scampering guards before he passed out.

* * *

The sound of rushing water filled Gwyn's ears as he steadily came to. He lifted his head with a soft groan and opened his eyes, peering around to see that he was outside. Even more so, finding that he wasn't even in the Ice Kingdom anymore but possibly somewhere in the Night Kingdom. He's never stepped foot outside the Ice Kingdom nor has he ever thought about it. Gwyn spotted no other dragons around, just a small river that his head was lying next to and a few trees that were scattered about. "Uhm… Hello?" Gwyn soon spoke up, however, no one was there to respond. He stood up fully and took another quick scan of the area around him before heading down towards one of the few trees that lay scattered about. His eyes immediately caught a dark silhouette laying under one of the trees, to which he'd start his approach. The closer he got the more he noticed that it was a NightWing. "Hello?" He spoke up once next to this mysterious dragon. The NightWing's ears twitched lightly and perked up, their head turned to catch Gwyn staring right down at them.

"A hello to you too, IceWing." The NightWing responded back with a small smile. "I'm Victory."

"Victory? I'm Gwyn." The IceWing spoke up a bit, flexing his wings lightly before lowering his head. "Do you know where I am? I don't believe this to be anywhere in the Ice Kingdom."

Victory nodded his head a small bit and sat up. "You, my friend, are in the land between dreaming, and being awake."

"So… are you visiting me in my dreams?" Gwyn tilted his head lightly, his claws tapping against the ground lightly.

"Not exactly. You are asleep, yes, but you aren't dreaming right now. We are rather… In a void of sorts. A void where I am trapped. I have called you here to help me."

"To help you? I… I don't understand. How can help you, and why me?" Gwyn stood back up, turning his head around to idly glance about the place, seeing nothing but a deep fog surrounding the outer edge of where the trees seemed to stop.

"Simple… First, I need you to accomplish your own task." Victory gently flicked his tail back and forth against the soft grass, turning to look at him once more. "You do know what that is, yes?"

Gwyn nodded his head. "Of course. It's been stirring in my head since I found out I was an animus dragon.

"Good. Once you accomplish that, you will be one step closer to helping me, and the rest of Pyrrhia, out of a fate worse than death." Victory soon turned to the pool of water next to him and motioned Gwyn to come closer. "Look here… See this dragon?" Gwyn peered over the edge and into the watery surface. A NightWing dragonet's face was projected on the surface of the water. "This is my sister, Conquest. I need you to make contact with her as soon as possible. She will play a key role in helping you get what you want, and help with getting me out of my prison."

"I don't understand. What's going to happen?" Gwyn examined the dragonet's face a moment longer before the image disappeared from the surface. Victory turned to lay back under the tree they were standing by.

"That is a story you'll find out for yourself, Gwyn." Victory nodded his head steadily before he seemingly vanished in front of Gwyn's eyes, and much to the IceWings surprise, the ground underneath him suddenly started to pull him down like quicksand. The IceWing struggled and clawed at the air, trying to find something he could grab onto and keep himself from sinking deeper into the ground, though his efforts were fruitless, as nothing was in reach for him to grab a hold of and there was no way for him to escape. Gwyn sank deeper and deeper into the ground, his talons the last things sticking up from the ground before they too disappeared.

* * *

A faint chill ran down Gwyn's spine as he lifted his head up. He placed one set of talons on his head and groaned out. By the moons… What happened…?

"Gwyn! You're awake! Thank goodness!" Snowbird quickly hopped up to her paws and padded up next to him, nuzzling up along his cheek and snout before pulling her head back and away from the dragon.

"Snowbird…? What happened…?" He still felt shaky and oddly chilly from earlier.

"You passed out in the throne room, Gwyn. The guards said you gave one of them a deathly, dull stare before you just collapsed onto the floor. Are you okay?" Snowbird whined calmly and sat back down next to the larger IceWing.

"Ah… I see…" He looked to her, his eyes still greyed over and dull, expressing no emotion through their dull hues what so ever.

"Gwyn… What's going on? You've been so shaky lately. All the others are worried about you…"

"I'm okay Snowbird, I promise… Just... " He steadily and shakingly got up, but he nonetheless got up. "Just work-related things… That's all. For now… I need to go see the Queen… Where is she..?"

"Queen Blizzard? I believe she's in the throne room right now." Snowbird quickly moved to help Gwyn up onto his shaky feet, only for her to then step back again.

"Perfect… I'll be back, Snowbird." He leaned his head down to nuzzle her softly, he received a whine from the IceWing dragonet as Gwyn soon moved his way out from the Healer's Chambers.

The halls were as silent as ever. The quiet clicking and tapping of claws on the floor and the still breath of dragons walking about was all the sound that could be registered. Even the snow hitting the edges of the Palace made some sort of soft, twinkling sound that no one could truly explain. Gwyn was frustrated at this point. He's had enough of these constant trips to the healer's chambers. No more with the abuse of his magic. No more with the constant treatment of the other IceWings. No more with the threatening other tribes for nonsense. He was going to change it all, right here and now. The IceWing had a near-visible aura about him that radiated nothing but hate and anger toward his royal-blooded cousin. Gwyn's approach was heard all throughout, no one dared to get in the IceWing's path, quickly stepping to the side or jumping into the air to hover a few feet above him.

Gwyn bashed through the Throne room doors, making the dragons inside quickly jolt up and turn their attention towards him. He ignored the many other eyes watching him. They weren't his business and they should definitely stay out of his if it was for the better of them. The only dragon he was focused on was the one sitting on the throne, dressed in various jewels and linen cloth, the crown sitting upon her head tilted down lightly after the sudden appearance of her advisor.

"Gwyn? Oh so glad to see you, dear cousin! Are you well again?" She clasped her paws together, smiling brightly as her tail waved in his direction, visibly pleased.

"Enough with the charades, cousin." He lowered his head and bared his teeth, all the guards quickly turning their spears toward Gwyn. They had him surrounded.

"Charades? I do not understand, Gwyn." She leaned over in her throne, gently flexing her wings. Gwyn simply scoffed at her remark.

"Of course you don't. Your mind is too fogged up now." He took a step closer and the guards followed suit. He took one look around the throne room before straightening himself up and lifting his head up high. "Let's just get to the point." He cleared his throat and flared out his large wings, letting the bright sunlight bleed through them as a soft cyan when they passed through. "Queen Blizzard, I formally challenge you for the seat of the throne and rule over the Ice Kingdom!"

The world had stopped around him. Everything felt still and too awfully silent. No movement, no quiet clicking of claws on ice, not even the breath of a dragon could be heard. He looked to the guards, each of them shocked from the simple uttering of his words, the other noble dragons scattered about having stopped dead in their tracks to look on, a few even dropping their scrolls onto the ground in front of them almost comically. The Queen looked the most visibly shocked. Never would she have thought that her own advisor would try and steal the throne from her.

"You… You can't be serious right?" One of the other noble dragons finally broke the silence, Gwyn steadily turning his gaze towards this noble, then back to Queen Blizzard as she seemed to be waiting for an answer to a question she didn't ask.

"Do you accept or do you not, your majesty?" Gwyn simply reinstated the question, seemingly growing impatient.

"Well, no of course! Why would I ever accept such a challenge?! You're simply insane for even suggesting it!" She growled lightly, leaning back in her throne.

"Fine. I suppose I'll try it the old fashioned way."

"What are you-" Gwyn quickly lept toward the Queen, tackling her out of the throne and rolling a couple feet away from it until they had bumped against one of the walls and broke apart, though he was quickly on the assault once more, pinning the disgruntled and confused royalty against the wall as he tried to bite and slash at her. "Gwyn unhand me this in- AGGH!" His claws had sunk down into her side, causing her to scream out in pain as he quickly drew blood. In a quick and instinctively rash decision, she kicked at his stomach to toss him off. "GUARDS! SEIZE HIM AND HOLD HIM DOWN!"

Gwyn was once more quickly surrounded, though instead of spears aimed at him, ready to pierce and stab at his scales, he had a pile of dragons on top of him in seconds, all scrambling to keep him held down limb by limb. A muzzle was quickly brought by one of the guards and placed around Gwyn's snout, sealing with clamps almost instantly heating up. He remembers this, a muzzle her enchanted personally that would heat up as soon as it was clamped on to keep him from breathing his frostbreath. While it wouldn't do much, the sole fact that it was melting into his scales was enough to keep him there, albeit in pain. Blizzard approached the restrained IceWing and stared down at him deceitfully, her eyes filled with anger and rage toward the dragon she called her cousin. One of the nobles had quickly rushed to her side and keep her bleeding any more, though her anger filled mind had one thing in mind. Him.

"You… horrible bastard…" She bared her teeth, snarling silently as he started back up at her, trying to hold back his cries of pain. " can't believe you, Gwyn! What is wrong with you?! Attacking the Queen on so suddenly? You must be asking for a death wish! But no… wait… That would be too easy… too merciful…" She turned her head away, staring at her throne slightly before she looked back to him from the corner of her eye. "No… No instead… You'll be exiled." Blizzard stumbled to her throne, huffing and panting lightly as she sat herself down in it, holding at her side lightly as she glared at the bound IceWing. "Royal Advisor Gwynion, from this day forth, you are no longer a resident of the Ice Kingdom and are cast into exiled for treason and treachery! If you are to ever return then you will be sentenced to an immediate capture and execution! You will longer be looked upon as an IceWing, but a traitorous dragon, who should be better off dead! Now get this disgrace out of my sight." The guards quickly gathered him up, holding each of his limbs as he thrashed and kicked about, only to have his thrashing stopped as one of the guards slammed the thicker part of their tail against the side of his head, knocking the ex-noble IceWing out instant. Everything was sudden darkness for Gwyn as the blow hit his head. Even with the muzzle still clamped around his snout, he couldn't feel a thing.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

A sudden jolt wakes Gwyn up. The dragon's eyes are beaten with a rush of sunlight from overhead. His head still hurt and he had slight burn scars on his snout from the muzzle, but he still seemed intact at least. No broken talons or teeth, no missing horns or beaten up face. The IceWing grunted deeply and shook his head, trying to clear it of its soreness and get his eyes readjusted to the light.

"Ugh… Where in Pyrrhia am I…?" Gwyn stared around, catching nothing but trees and ferns in his sight. Vines dangled overhead and vibrant colored birds flew. It didn't take him long to figure it out. "The rainforest… I knew it was a little too green here." He grunted out softly, rubbing his face with one of his paws before setting it back on to the ground. The IceWing stood onto his paws and stretched out, grunting deeply before looking about once more. "Looks like I'm on my own." Still talking to himself he trailed his way through the underbrush, complaining and spouting curses, all the same, barely paying attention to where he was walking or what direction he was going. The sun was high overhead, still midday from the looks. He had plenty of time to wander about and hopefully find some way out of the jungle the guards must've dropped him off in.

Minutes of walking soon turned to hours as his trip only seemed to turn him deeper and deeper into the rainforest. His paws were aching now and his stomach was starting to growl at him, demanding something to eat. He had tried to hunt something while he was here, though he had no luck. Everything was too fast and too nimble for him to grab ahold of. Gwyn had given up a while ago, figuring that the food would come to him eventually. It'll fall right into his paws when he least expects it.

"Time for some rest…" He grunted softly, turning his head to the right, then to the left, before a quick flop to the side got him to sigh out in relief. "Ugh… Never thought I'd need to rest from walking so much…" His head lowered to the ground and his paws outstretched in front of him, huffing lightly to himself as he closed his eyes. He hadn't thought of taking a nap, though it seemed that's what his brain was on track for. Moments pass and his body fell still, his stomach pushing out lightly with each breath he took in his sleep-induced state. Tropical birds and little lizards made a short rest spot on top of the sleeping dragon, chirping and chittering lightly to each other and out into the open, only until the IceWing had rolled over onto his other side, making everything on him scattered and flee from the scene, leaving Gwyn alone once more. Only until his head would quickly rise and his eyes would shoot open, peering around at the sound of rustling leaves all about him. He was hoping that this was the food he was hoping would come to him, ready for his paws to grab and his maw to receive. "Come on… food please…" He lowered his head and watched the bushes in front of him carefully as they moved and shook.

A wild boar had quickly run out of the bushes, and almost straight into the talons of Gwyn, though it quickly skidded to a halt and turned tail, dashing back into the bushes. The IceWing sighed and refused to get up, staring at his empty paws. "Welp… Guess I'm starving now… What a way to go…" His head flopped onto the grassy floor and huffed, just about to close his eyes to sleep again, only for his ears to perk and his head to turn up just a bit at the sound of the leaves above him jostling and shaking about. He figured it must have just been a load of birds, only for a full-blown dragon to come crashing down into his paws and lay out flat on their side. Gwyn stared down at his paws in shock. He wasn't sure where this dragon had come from, but by the looks of it, it was a RainWing. He peered around, taking a glance to the left, then to the right. No one around. Just him and this somehow sleeping RainWing in his paws. _Well… No one else is around… And I just cover up the snout… _Gwyn hadn't thought that he'd ever had to resort to this, but he was too hungry to think about anything else. Letting his mind run feral and wild a bit, he turned the RainWing onto their back and sighed out calmly, gently grasping at the snout to keep it closed while he leaned in close to their now exposed stomach. The fresh smell of a female RainWing filled his nose. _Still young… So vibrant and fruity… Ugh… I'm sorry little one… But it's survival of the fittest… _Gwyn reluctantly parted his jaws and leaned in closer to nearly biting down into her scaled stomach, only for him to find the RainWing having lifted her head to stare at him, her snout still trapped between his talons. She had an inquisitive look on her face, mixed with a slight sign of discomfort, curiosity, and confusion. He stared back at her, blinking calmly as his cold breath washed over her scales. _Well… Shit… Guess I got some explaining to do. _

"Mmmhpf?" The RainWing mumbled through her closed muzzled. The IceWing steadily removed his talons, leaving her to quickly speak up. "What are you doing?"

"Uh… Grabbing a bite?" He pulled his head away and closed his jaws, the RainWing shaking her head a bit.

"Shame… Do you not have any decency?" She puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms above her chest a small bit, her tail curling between her legs a bit.

"What? I just… Ugh… Sorry, I'm just hungry, I haven't been able to catch anything since I got here." Gwyn turned his head to the side and pulled his paws out from under her, sitting up onto his haunches.

The RainWing snorted slightly and shook her head some, looking over the IceWing that sat before her. "What are you even doing outside of the Ice Kingdom then, Big White Dragon?" Her head gave a small tilt of curiosity and her eyes were filled with much the same.

"I was exiled. Deemed a traitor and left out here in the Rainforest after I got knocked out." He chuffed a bit, turning his away and snarling lightly, still hardly believing he had let himself get caught like that in the first place. If only he had been smarter about his approach and not let that building hatred take over.

"Ex...iled? Jeez… Whatever that means it sounds harsh." The RainWing tsked a bit and looked up to him once more. "I'm Pitahaya, or as most like to call me, Dragonfruit. What do others call you, Big White Dragon?" Dragonfruit gave a small flick of her tail and turned her head to the left this time, giving a small blink.

"I'm Gwyn." He replied, now seemingly fully introduced to this smaller RainWing he had nearly eaten moments ago. Now that she wasn't on her back, he could get a full look over her. He understood why they called her Dragonfruit. She had a close resemblance to one in her color pattern. Her underbelly, wing membranes, and the front half of her snout were colored in the white with black speckles all over, almost like freckles. Her body was that same near burnt red color that the skin of the fruit would be. Her paws, tail tip, ear tips, and wingtips matched the greens of the fruit, seemingly to fade nicely into the burnt red hues of her scales. He did have to admit that she looked tasty on the off-side, though she looked beautiful regardless of how he thought she looked. Most RainWings were, though Dragonfruit was clearly something different from most of them. He just couldn't quite put his talons on it.

"Gwyn? It's nice to meet you! I'm sure you already know where you are, but welcome to the Rainforest Kingdom!" Dragonfruit stood on her hind paws and stretched out her wings and stuck out her arms in some glorious manner like she was trying to show off the place. "You're the first visitor in a while to the Rainforest Kingdom. Come! I'll show you where the others are, it isn't far from here!" Dragonfruit bounced a bit onto her paws and turned about to guide Gwyn along the way. The IceWing simply stood and followed her along the way, idly grumbling at himself and subtly plotting his next moves carefully. His train of thought was soon broken once Dragonfruit had spoken up again. "You're really cold, you know that? Just being around you makes me shiver…" She tucked her wings against her sides and shuddered lightly, though still keeping herself close to him.

"I know that. IceWings are naturally cold, our scales give off a light chill constantly to keep us colder than our surroundings. Helps when I need to use my frostbreath on someone." He rumbled out a bit, peering around at the green leaves on each tree and all the vines that hung from high branches.

"Frostbreath? Sounds scary…" Dragonfruit mentioned, and Gwyn simply nodded his head. "Did you ever have to use yours?" She chimed, tilting her head slightly as she looked back to the larger dragon.

"No," Gwyn replied, turning his head up to look towards the canopy. _Not yet at least… _

Their short-lived journey came to an end as they had approached the destination that Dragonfruit promised. "Well, here we are! The home of the RainWings." Gwyn had to turn his head up to stare at the many homes and rope bridges that lined the trees. Large leaves hung about that had sleeping dragons laying on every inch and a few that were milling about, drowsily at that. It was eerily quiet, but something about the lack of dragon activity made it all that much more enjoyable.

"Where is everyone?" The IceWing asked with a subtle huff, only seeming to catch sight of possibly 7 other RainWings.

"It's Suntime, so everyone is up on the highest of leaves to gather up all the Sunlight they can! It's usually around the middle of the day since that's when the sun is at its highest." Gwyn wiggled his ears lightly and turned his head up towards the canopy once again, squinting just a bit to see the faint silhouettes of more RainWings resting and laying on the large canopy leaves.

"I see." He shook his head lightly, looking back down to the RainWing dragonet beside him. "Seems needlessly lazy if you ask me." He scoffed a bit and looked to Dragonfruit, only to find his stomach growling at him once again. The RainWing looked back up to him and chuckled, patting at the front of his snout. _You're lucky I don't eat you now…_

"Come! I'll get you the food you want, Gwyn," She smiled and spread out her wings, seemingly taking a hop high into the air and landing onto one of the large wooden platforms overhead. The IceWing followed suit, spreading out his wings and flapping them down to the ground once to gain a boost into the air, stretching out his front legs to hopefully land on it, though he fell short and nearly missed the entire thing. Luckily his talons hooked onto the wood and was able to pull himself up onto it. _Whew… That would've been embarrassing if I didn't make it… _The IceWing tsked to himself, turning his head slightly to the right as Dragonfruit lead him down the rope bridge, humming idly to herself. Gwyn was mostly hoping for some sort of meat, something to at least give him enough energy to leave the rainforest and possibly travel up to the Mud Kingdom, he'd feel just a little safer there. Somehow.

With a sudden stop and a turn of the tail, Dragonfruit soon faced her Icy company and spread her right wing out toward a table that was laden with all different kinds of tropical fruit and the likes. Each one a different, vibrant color that just practically screamed eat me. Gwyn couldn't help back groan at the sight however, the sweet, enticing colors of juicy tropical fruit were clearly not enough to sate his need for something with meat. Something a little more… _bloody… _"Is there something with a little more, oh how should I say this… _**MEAT, **_on it? Say, a plump bird, or possibly a boar?" Gwyn spoke out with a subtle tilt of the head. His face wore a stoic expression, clearly unamused by the bright fruits.

"Meat? Oh uhm… We don't really… do that." The RainWing next to him gently tapped her wingtips together in nervousness and chuckled with that same hint of nervousness. "Hunting takes too much work, so we instead gather fruit and eat that. Besides, the fruit here in the jungle gives us all the nutrients we need. Along with that and the sun of course." The IceWing's stoic expression quickly turned to annoyance and he turned himself around, leaning over the edge of the platform to look down from it and glance around, hoping he could find something to sink his teeth into. "I'm sorry but that's all we have." Dragonfruit sighed a little, looking down at the ground a small bit, seemingly disappointed in herself now. Gwyn looked up to glance at her a small bit. Seeing her cute face not so cute looking anymore made his heart heavier and he could feel something he hadn't felt in a long time. A sudden dread of guilt washed over him. He had to take a moment to gather himself up before he sighed and moved over to the upset RainWing.

"Alright, alright. I'll try some." He said with a slight snarl to himself.

"Really?!" That made the RainWing perk up excitingly and her scales quickly faded to a much brighter set of tones. With a mixture of pinks and purples.

"Yes." Gwyn looked to her, then down to the fruits displayed in front of him. He had to choose carefully. While they all looked appealing in their own right, he couldn't take the risk of accidentally eating something poisonous and end his own life so quickly. His left paw hovered over the fruit-filled table, twitching lightly when he got to one he thought he might try before rejecting it and moving on. _This is harder than I thought… Surely it's just fruit. How could it be poisonous? Even if any were, the RainWings should know what's poisonous and what isn't. _He nodded his head a few times to his thoughts, taking just a moment longer before he picked one. _Alright… I suppose you'll do for now. _The IceWing held the oddly bumpy fruit in his talons, letting his digits trace over the round figure of it while his eyes scanned the teal skin of it. He pulled it up toward his nose and took a few sniffs, picking up on the oddly rich scent of snow. He stared at it in with on dumbfounded look, almost like the couldn't believe what he was smelling. _Snow? I never thought the snow had a smell to it... _He seemed to brush it off before moving it back up toward his snout, though this time he parted his jaws and leaned in close bite down into the teal-colored fruit. He could have sworn his teeth felt weird as he took a bite into the tropical fruit. He had eaten fruit before but nothing like this. It was incredibly juicy and seemingly soaked his tongue in the various flavors he could describe as _blue._ After his initial bite, he pulled it away to look down at the bite he had taken out of it. It leaked with its juices into the IceWing's paw, slightly staining it with its deep blue fluids. Gwyn had remembered seeing that color before. His gaze turned long and deep as he took himself into a deep train of thought, remembering back to when he had seen this color before. _An IceWing's blood… The Queen's blood… _In that short moment, he had remembered what he was originally planning on doing.

"Gwyn?" Dragonfruit finally spoke up, a slight tone of worriedness on her tongue as the IceWing had stared so longingly at the fruit in his talons.

"Huh?" He seemed to be snapped out of his self induced trance before sighing a bit. "I'm fine, Dragonfruit." He gave a light smile before flicking his tail to the right.

"Good. I got scared there for a second, I thought you ate one of the poisonous ones." She giggled and sat back on her haunches. Her mention of a poisonous fruit made Gwyn stare down at the teal one he had just bitten into. _Thank the Moons I chose wisely… _After a couple more bites of the teal-colored fruit, it was gone. He licked his scaled lips clean of the watery juices and rumbled a bit. _Well, at least it wasn't awful. _

"Now that my hunger has been somewhat sated, I fear I must take my leave," Gwyn said, turning his head towards the RainWing who had stopped mid chomp.

"Leaving? Already? But you just got here!" She put the fruit she was holding back and looked up to him, seemingly pleading with him to stay.

"I'm sorry but I can't stay. I have important matters I must attend to back in the Ice Kingdom." He stood up and sighed a bit, lifting his right paw and gently patting her on the head. "Thank you for the hospitality, Dragonfruit."

"H-Hang on a minute!" She puffed out her cheeks, staying silent for a short moment while she thought of what to say, only for her to then perk her head up and spout out, "C-Can I come with you?!" She smiled awkwardly but still waited for a response from the white dragon next to her, wings flared out and tail wagging profusely.

"You want to… go with me?" Gwyn flicked both his ears in mild confusion but gave soft sigh and leaned his head down toward her. "I don't think it'd be a very wise idea. The journey would be long and most likely dangerous. I'd rather not want to put an innocent dragon in harm's way." He raised his head back up and shook it a bit. Dragonfruit simply made that same awkwardly begging expression, not letting it up for even a moment as she stared down Gwyn's now guilt-ridden face. "Ugh… Fine. You can come along." That got the RainWing to drop her little act and bounce around in joy, thanking him and cheering for herself. Gwyn shook his head softly and sighed a bit. "Come on. We better get a move on lest we miss our chance to leave before nightfall."

* * *

The night was slowly approaching, the sun had lightly touched down on the horizon and ached longingly to dive below the world. Gwyn and Dragonfruit had made their way out from the Rainforest Kingdom just beforehand. The RainWing had praised herself on her ability to navigate through the Rainforest with little effort.

"Oh thank goodness, we're out." Gwyn sighed out a breath of relief and stretched himself out fully along the ground before standing up straight. "Alright… Now, where are we…" Gwyn turned his head up to stare at the sky, glancing lightly towards the sun. "Seems like… we are facing North…" He gently swung one of his digits in the air and thought for a short moment before perking his ears up. Dragonfruit looked at him and tilted her head lightly.

"What is it, Gwyn? Do you know where we are?" She asked, her head only tilting more.

"We are in the Mud Kingdom." He spoke out, turning his head down to her. "Or at least if my memory of Pyrrhia's map serves me well." He sighed a bit and dug his digits loosely in the ground below them. The dirt was notably softer and more pliable. "Hopefully the MudWings would be nice enough to let us in for a night or two." Gwyn looked doubtful of his remark since he knew that relations with the MudWings haven't been too great. Though, he was hoping they would still at least allow him a couple of days worth of hospitality, at least to recover his strength fully and actually eat something. He hadn't eaten since he was back in the Ice Kingdom and that was a day or two ago by this point.

"You think they will?" Dragonfruit asked as she gently squished her paws down into the slightly moist dirt below.

"Come on, Dragonfruit. It's best that we don't stand out in the open like this." The IceWing trudged forward through the wetlands, idly grunting and grumbling to himself as he could feel his talons and paws sinking into the dirt underneath with every step he took. It wasn't too pleasant, and he lifted his paws a little higher in response to every step he made. _Ugh… Why does it have to be so muddy…_

The two dragons moved steadily through the soft terrain, keeping their eyes both on the sky above and the ground below. Their movements were slow and steady, not wanting to accidentally step on a hidden MudWing if any were napping about. Gwyn had heard stories that the broad dragons could submerge themselves into the mud and blend in with it. He could never really believe it, but he wasn't about to risk his paws over not being careful in the mud. "Careful where you step little one, don't want to accidentally step on a MudWing." Gwyn finally spoke up, turning his head back lightly to her.

"Step on one? But how would-" Dragonfruit was cut short as she perked her ears and stopped in her tracks, looking down at her left forepaw. She could feel something hard under all that soft, malleable mud. The ground beneath her moved and shook with gentle waves, soon a bulge would appear, then slowly out from the muddy mound scales would appear, then from those scales the body of a dragon. "Oops…"

"Ugh… Dragonfruit!" Gwyn quickly turned himself around and pulled the dragonet toward him, getting in some sort of a battle-ready stance as the MudWing groggily turned toward the two. The MudWing's eyes trailed along the both of them, and a shot of anger ran through them. "Just stay back, Dragonfruit…" Gwyn cleared his throat and turned his attention toward the MudWing, who was visibly angry with the both of them. "We are terribly sorry to disturb you… The RainWing did not mean to step on you, she was simply not watching where she was going."

A deep snort left the agitated dragon and she glared at the IceWing. "You better be sorry. This is the fifth time today I've had my much-needed nap ruined by another dragon, and now, I'm simply fed up with it!"

"Look I get that you are angry, but you don't have to let that anger out on us. We are just passing through, and you'll likely never see us again." Gwyn flexed his wings a small bit, getting a little lower to the ground.

"It's too late for that mister. I've been ticked off for the last time and now I need to, oh how should I put this, vent my anger?" The MudWing growled a bit and reared back, ready to charge at the guarding IceWing.

_Great… Just what I needed… _Gwyn readied himself and lowered himself into a defensive posture, ready for the MudWing that was getting herself amped up. Within a few moments, the MudWing began to charge, head tilted down and horns bared. The distance between the IceWing and the MudWing was quickly closing, and Gwyn needed to think fast. He quickly came up with a plan and turned around to quickly grab Dragonfruit. She let out a solid yelp of surprise before he threw her in the direction of the Rainforest. She landed quite a few feet away from the two rather safely, though she had made a big splash in the mud that coated her scales. _Alright with her out of danger I can work more efficiently… Just keep your cool Gwyn… Don't let that side out of you again… _The MudWing was quickly upon him, horns still barred, yet to gore him once contact was made.

Gwyn was quick on his feet, able to sidestep and jump away just in time before the MudWing was within stabbing distance with her horns. He slid across the mud a bit and tried to get a firm footing but had a troubled time doing so. Before he could even regain his posture the MudWing was rushing him. Her tail scooped under a small patch of mud and flung it at his face, making a direct hit to his eyes. Gwyn was blinded from obstruction. He didn't even have time to wipe it off of him as the MudWing tackled him to the ground. She tried to slash her talons along his chest but it made little effort as they had only left dull scratch marks, but she wouldn't let up, no matter how dull her talons were. Fed up with this more than useless onslaught of claw swipes, Gwyn reaches up with his much sharper talons and sinks them into the MudWing's neck, making her scream out in pain as the serrated edges did their jobs. It wasn't long before the blood would start to spill. Gwyn's digits were instantly stained as well as the MudWing's own tan scales. She tried to pull herself away but Gwyn's claws held true in their position and stayed locked beneath the dragoness's flesh. A desperate fling of her head managed to yank the IceWing's talons free, however at the cost of tearing into more flesh underneath, causing much larger lacerations on her neck.

The blood was pouring from the MudWing's neck, the IceWing's claws having seemed to just barely missed her jugular. "H-hahhh… Whew… Gonna feel that in the morning. Tsk…" She bit down on her lip a small bit and closed one of her eyes as she lifted her right paw to hold the wound on the right side of her neck. "Gotta say though, never fought an IceWing before, but I have heard the stories of your claws, and they are definitely true.."

"Good, hopefully, that'll keep you from attacking," Gwyn growled a bit, flicking the blood off of his talons and into the mud below them. Ultimately he was still stuck under the MudWing, though he tried to quickly move in to go for her jugular.

"Nope." She grunted as she quickly grabbed at his wrists and pinned them down to the mud. Gwyn was quickly caught off guard as her head came slamming down into his own, their skulls connecting and the IceWing groaned out in pain, a throbbing headache quickly enveloped over his mind and he seethed out in pain, there was a bit of a break in his skin and scales as the top of his head began to leak of his blue blood. Lucky enough for him though it seemed to daze the MudWing, and she stepped back, shaking her head. All she got was a big red mark on her forehead. "Alright, IceWing… I think this has gone on long enough…" She panted out. She scooped a pawful mud from the ground and slapped it against her wounds, letting the warmth of it soothe the aching pain and partially patch up the wound.

Gwyn rolled onto his paws and groaned out again, the headache really seeming to get to him. Though now it was starting to evolve to a more harsh, stabbing pain. "Oooooohhhhh…. Three moons ..." He placed one of his paws on his head and seethed in pain again. He knew he was vulnerable now, but at this point, he couldn't stop for any reason. This MudWing now had it out for him after the claw marks he had left on her. "Alright, Gwyn… Maybe you should get a little serious…" He said to himself, staring off towards the way he had thrown Dragonfruit. She was staring back at him with one of the most absolutely worried faces he had ever seen on a dragon. He sighed out and slowly got up, turning his head around to face the MudWing. "Alright… Come on then…" He hissed out, lowering his head as he turned his whole body to face the MudWing. She smiled devilishly and lowered her head to level it with his own. He stared at her with a sudden realization. _That smile… Blizzard..._ There was something about the MudWing's fiendish grin that made Gwyn think of his former Queen. And that would be the edge he needed to get ahead. However, it was an edge he did not want to bring out willingly. Gwyn could feel himself losing the control he had over his more animalistic side, having tried to keep it in check but the MudWing had unfortunately pulled on a nerve.

The MudWing charged him again, but she could see he was visibly shaking, and his eyes were suddenly deep. Something had changed in him. The IceWing and MudWing stared each other down, one snarling and the other quaking with pent up anger. Just as the Mud dragon stepped forward, Gwyn was suddenly quick to react, and snapped, leaping toward the brown dragon. He caught her in his talons and wrestled the bulkier dragon to the ground with all his might. This was what threw the MudWing off completely as she suddenly felt so powerless under the might of the IceWing. She laid out on her back, trying to sink her dull claws into him, though it would render useless as Gwyn's scales were too sturdy, and simply only left light scratches against them. The white dragon's left set of claws quickly sunk into the MudWing's chest, digging in before he swiped them towards the right, carving out three whole lacerations into her, making her scream out in agony from the serrated edges cutting into her, leaving her chest drooling with her own blood. Gwyn didn't let up, however. His right set of claws did the same thing, latching deeply into the MudWing's chest and swiping to the left to create a second set of deep wounds, tearing flesh and scales from her body and leaving her chest a bloody mess.

"S-STOP! LET ME GO!" The MudWing had finally had enough, seeming to try and call out for mercy, though it was just too late for anything to reach the IceWing in a more sound manner. He grabbed at her jaws with his talons and pried them apart, her body squirming and writhing in pain as she tried to escape, but with the IceWing settled so heavily on top of her she had no chance, and this would be the end of it all.

Gwyn's head leaned back and his own snout opened but, squeezing hard on her own parted jaws, his serrated talons finding purchase in various spots as to keep her from shutting her snout. His neck would bulge out and his breath would turn misty, only for the sudden blast of frostbreath to quickly fill the MudWing's mouth and throat with the frozen attack. Her body almost instantly locked up as joints and muscles froe solid within her, her screams of mercy quickly silenced as her throat was closed up instantly with the Ice Dragon's breath. Her snout was the first to freeze solid, ice glossing over her scales and soon enough creating a slight cover around it, The rest of her body quickly following along. The warmth of life drained from her within seconds, her body glossing over with a thin sheet of ice. The MudWing was dead.

Gwyn's snout closed and his talons tugged free from the frozen snout they were recently stabbed into. The IceWing stared at his first kill. His eyes filled with deep worry and his body visibly shaking. His mind was filled with whispers and evil thoughts, something he couldn't seem to escape as his mind swirled around itself. Gwyn steadily turned back to see Dragonfruit staring at him in disbelief. "Gwyn…?" Dragonfruit lightly spoke, looking deep into the Ice Dragon's eyes. Her face was covered in fear and worry, something he thought he'd never see. Though more whispers filled his mind and he closed his eyes, shaking his head a bit. He had to regain control over himself but he couldn't find a way out of his mental torment. He lost his will and suddenly opened his eyes back up, staring down the RainWing dragonet. Her face flushed with fear, she took a step back, idly glancing back toward the Rainforest that was mere steps away from her.

In a fit of uncontrollable bloodlust, he quickly lunged for the dragonet, making her quickly turn tail and run. Dragonfruit was very fast, and he was certainly very quick to catch up to the terrified dragonet. It wasn't much time until he tackled her to the ground, rolling along the ground before skidding to a stop. The RainWing was under him and her throat was pinned to the ground. He had a tight grasp around it like he could crush it at any moment. She hadn't thought she was how she would go out, but she tried calling out to him again, her voice raspy from the lack of space she had to work within her throat. "G-Gwyn…! Gwyn, please…! It's me… D-Dragonfruit…!" She could feel him squeezing harder and harder, her airway being more restricted, causing her to grab at his wrist and try to pull it off. "Gwyn…"

The IceWing was mere moments away from choking the RainWing, his glaring eyes never leaving her face as he wanted to see the life fade from her eyes in front of him, though something about her face, and the way she pleaded out to him to make him stop, to let her go. He could feel his talons steadily releasing her throat, her maw opening up widely to gasp out as Gwyn finally removed his paw. He didn't say a thing. He simply stared down at his talons, then looked to her and the pained expression she held on her face. Gwyn couldn't believe he had nearly killed her. An innocent RainWing that had nothing to do with his endeavor, nearly being choked out because of his soulless thoughts and the evil whispers that lashed at his mind. Dragonfruit coughed and rubbed at her throat, taking deep breaths as she filled her lungs with the precious air that she needed once more. It wasn't long until Dragonfruit had looked at the paw that was raised above her slightly, shaking and trembling before her. A splash of cold water hit her chest and she looked to him, tilting her head lightly. She could see his eyes were filled with tears, streams of them running down his cheeks and dripping onto her. He then quickly wrapped both his forelegs around her and held her close, sobbing lightly. "Gwyn…? Why are you…"

"I'm sorry, little dragonet…" Was simply the only thing Gwyn responded with. For the first time in what he thought was forever, he could feel yet another emotion he had thought he lost through the abuse of his Animus powers. Sadness had filled him. _Sadness… _He just held her tighter. He had even felt a connection between the two of them. Something had sparked the moment he met her but he never thought of it until he had nearly killed her. His will was his again. Gwyn wasn't sure of it, but he knew he had to protect this dragonet, and take her to the Ice Kingdom with him. He knew this was apart of some great, master plan that the world had for him, and he'd follow along. _She is one of them… one that will help me regain my soul… I know it… There's no denying it now…_

The sun had finally set on the two of them, dawning into the night. Gwyn soon let go of the RainWing and sat back on his haunches, his ears pinned against his skull and he wiped his eyes clear of his tears. Dragonfruit leaned in close to him and gently lifted her forepaw to lightly run it under his eye a bit to help. He knew she had forgiven him. "Thank you, Dragonfruit.."


End file.
